


took my love, took it down

by doubtthestars



Series: the places we will go [1]
Category: Football RPF
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-08
Updated: 2015-01-08
Packaged: 2018-03-06 12:17:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3134180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doubtthestars/pseuds/doubtthestars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Los Angeles is nothing like Liverpool and some small part of him is glad for it. Nothing in this city reminds him of what he left behind, what he's known all his life. </p><p>or Stevie reflects in LA.</p>
            </blockquote>





	took my love, took it down

**Author's Note:**

> title from Landslide by Fleetwood Mac. infact, just listen to it and cry about Steven fucking Gerrard.

_Well I've been afraid of changing cuz I've built my life around you._

 

 

Los Angeles is nothing like Liverpool and some small part of him is glad for it. Nothing in this city reminds him of what he left behind, what he's known all his life. The air is hot and the climate hotter. The whole state is built like an island with more skyscrapers and celebrities attached. The cuisine is influenced by a different potpourri of cultures and Stevie feels simultaneously too old and too young with wonder.

His girls love the beach, soaking up the California sun until they risk burning their fair skin. He feels a smile crawl up his face under the beach umbrella, watching Lexie studiously build a sand mansion with Lilly-Ella.

Alex lifts her sunglasses to throw an amused glance his way.

"What're you smiling about?" He clears his throat as a bubble of exhilaration rises from his chest. In this sea of people, no one had looked twice at him. He was sure some paparazzi had caught them on the boardwalk but it had been an eon since he felt so anonymous. Carra would've had something to say about that.

_It takes thirteen million people in a city to make you feel alone, Gerrard. You're daft._

"Nothing. It's just nice."

The first thing that throws him off is the cheerleaders.

"Cheerleaders?" Omar behind him snickers a bit before slinging an arm around his neck. Robbie looks back in warning, but Omar nudges past Husidic next to Steven without a problem.

"Yeah, don't you have those back in England?" Stevie furrowed eyebrows give him away but he recovers quickly.

"Sure, but we don't have whatever that is." He points at the bastard child of a smurf and deranged muppet that is dancing with the cheerleaders before moving into the stands. Steven has seen some hideous mascots but birds with teeth notwithstanding, the blue gnome alien was certainly memorable.

Omar laughs outright and shoves him jokingly, "Don't make fun of Cozmo, he can't help the way he looks."

The California Clasico was serious, as serious as any game against Everton with Liverpool. Keane looks to Arena and says a few words before the stadium explodes as they are announced. Steven doesn't envy the Irishman going first.

The cacophony is similar yet completely alien to Steven's ears. There is a Spanish he has only heard on these busy streets and whistles, cheers that should sound the same in any language but have a different flavor than the Kop.

At the 51rst minute, he hears a rally from San Jose supporters, "Goonies never say die!" and he falters for a second, maybe half a second. He has an out of body experience: the colors are wrong, the pitch is wrong. Jordan and Martin are not there, Brendan is not in the sidelines, and _what is he doing here?_

__He recovers to find the ball and pass it to Dan Gargan._ _

__They win and he doesn't score, but his legs feel like he's run a marathon._ _

__It is satisfying._ _

__He is in a new house with a bigger bedroom. There is so much space in Los Angeles and yet walking down the street seems to defy that very idea. The sunlight that filters through the windows makes every room bright. Steven thinks even the sunlight is different in the States._ _

__He doesn't trust himself driving on the _wrong_ side of the road so he does his best to find a cap and dress unassumingly to the nearest metro station. Klein had offered a car to pick him up but Steven had refused. He had navigated a labyrinth of streets just fine before. He could learn a new map, a new city._ _

__On the bus, a little boy stares wide-eyed at him for about ten minutes before turning back to the tablet in his hands. Steven avoids eyes by staring out the window and doesn't think about the way his hands are clenched in his lap._ _

__There are reporters as he arrives to training. He sighs while Arena clears a path with the guards._ _

__Bruce Arena is laidback. His speech is littered with a city he doesn't know. Steven does not feel like he is competing with the shadow of Landon Donovan but he knows his presence is still missed especially by the man in front of him. Stevie had seen some of his interviews on the plane ride. He found some respect in his words. Arena knew the value of every year with a team._ _

__"Are you sure about this, Steven?" The words calm and slow in the New York drawl._ _

__"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure." Stevie shoulders relax, knowing his decision is final. He wouldn't go on loan anywhere. He didn't want to step back into the European nights._ _

__Bruce nods and lets him go. The kit with his name is different, a lot of little accents and colors on white. The three making him faintly smile at the coincidence with his old friend. He traces the shield with a fingertip. The liver bird is still with him but, for now, it would have to watch over the city and club by itself._ _

__Steven Gerrard was in the city of angels now._ _

__

 

_'Til a landslide brought me down._

**Author's Note:**

> I've taken soooo many liberties with all of this. I've lived on the east coast my whole life so I clearly don't have a damn clue about California or the LA Galaxy team.
> 
> This was an exercise on reconciling the facts that a) Stevie is leaving Liverpool b) Stevie is going to the MLS c) conceivably I could see Steven Gerrard in action without a screen in front of me but I still can't believe it.
> 
> Be kind (rewind), leave a comment.


End file.
